Skills Ontario competition.
Photo: Skills Ontario

TORONTO — Ontario is investing $3.5 million in Skills Ontario for the 2020-2021 school year to help promote the skilled trades. This is in addition to $1.5 million provided earlier this year to support outreach and promotion to youth, educators and parents.

Gary McNaughton, Minister of Labour, Training and Skills Development, stressed the need to promote the skilled trades to young people that give them access to jobs that are “fulfilling, meaningful, and well-paid, and to keep the many industries that depend on skilled trades thriving. Skills Ontario does this very well.”

Skills Ontario, based in Waterloo, Ont., offers initiatives to bring experience learning and mentoring to encourage youth to consider skilled trades and technologies.

“Our objective is to connect education, experience, and employment for youth so that they can be aware of, explore and pursue the incredible opportunities in the skilled trades and technologies…The pandemic has underscored the importance of skills and technology careers, and they will help lead us out of our economic challenges,” said Ian Howcroft, CEO of Skills Ontario.